1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sales-data-processing apparatus with functions that can provide a rebate service in which a rebate amount is determined according to the wishes of the customers and the amounts purchased.
2. Prior Art
Two types of rebate services are carried out in customer-information-managing at present: the regular rebate system and the immediate rebate system. In the regular rebate system, service coupons are issued regularly depending on the amount purchased by a member customer, and a discount is made for the customer when the service coupons are brought in. Thus, the discount is carried out by means of service coupons. This system is inconvenient for both the customers and stores because the customers must keep and carry the service coupons and the stores must issue the service coupons.
In contrast, in the immediate rebate system, the rebate service is immediately carried out at the point of calculation according to the purchase amount of a customer. As a result, the stores need not issue the service coupons, and further the customers need not keep and carry the service coupons. These are advantages over the regular rebate system for both the customers and stores. In particular, the immediate rebate system is preferable for small-scale stores where the issuing of service coupons might be burdensome.
For this reason, sales-data-processing apparatuses adopting the immediate rebate system are now produced.
These sales-data-processing apparatuses works as follows: first, a check is made at the point of calculation to determine if the sum total of the purchases of the customer exceeds the amount at which a rebate will occur; second, if the rebate occurs, the final price obtained by subtracting the rebate from the current total price is required at the time of calculation.
The conventional sales-data-processing apparatus, however, presents some problems as follows:
(1) The rebate calculations often yield fractions of a yen, which causes a decrease in the processing efficiency of the store clerk. This is because the rebate is computed by multiplying the total price of purchase of the customer by a predetermined constant (2%, for example), when the total price exceeds a predetermined amount ( 10,000, for example).
(2) Some customers wish to delay the payment of the rebate until the rebate reaches a set amount, and then buy desired articles by using the rebate when the rebate reaches the set amount. The conventional sales-data-processing apparatus cannot handle such a demand.
(3) If the fractions of the total price of purchase were able to be paid by the rebate, the customer would not need to receive small change which is of little use, and the cash handling of the store clerk would be reduced as well. The conventional sales-data-processing apparatus cannot handle such a demand, either.